Academic Departments and Programs of Study

Art and Archaeology Department

Professor: Jennifer Ross (chair)

Professor Emeriti: Frederick Bohrer, Anne Derbes, Alexander Russo, Joyce Michaud

Associate Professor: April Jehan Morris

Assistant Professors: Martha Bari, Gary Cuddington (Studio Arts Coordinator), David Hixson (visiting), Chaz Martinsen

Gallery Director: TBD 

The Department of Art and Archaeology offers a range of studio art, art history, art education, archaeology and anthropology courses that prepare the student for graduate study or for a career in various professions. In addition to concentrations in art history, archaeology, studio art and art education, the department also offers four minors, three graduate programs, and contributes to the graduate program in the Humanities. 

Art and archaeology faculty are active professionals who frequently participate in conferences, symposia, archaeological projects and regional, national and international exhibitions. The department is closely linked to the community of Frederick and to the cultural centers in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and New York. Invitational art exhibits are held throughout the year in Hood’s Hodson and Whitaker Art Galleries, bringing to campus professional work from a variety of artists and representing a wide range of media from fine arts to computer-generated art. In addition, the galleries provide space for a variety of exhibitions of student work. 

Facilities: Art and archaeology classes are held in the newly renovated Tatem Arts Center, which has studios for design, ceramics, drawing, painting, photography and printmaking. Seniors with a studio art concentration are provided a studio space apart from the classrooms, with 24-hour access. A darkroom houses black and white developing equipment for film. A computer lab provides classroom and workspace for digital photography, digital art and photojournalism. The archaeology laboratory in Tatem offers space and equipment for artifact storage and study. The ceramic arts facility consists of a handbuilding/sculpture studio, a wheel room, lecture area, plaster mixing room and cone-6 glaze lab, kiln room with a variety of electric kilns, five full-size and three test kilns. The Hodson Ceramic Studios provide studio space for graduate students, a graduate-level classroom and a cone-10 glaze lab. Gas-fired kilns are located in the kiln yard outside the Hodson Ceramic Studios.  

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Graduate Programs Offered:

Biology Department

Professors: Drew Ferrier, Craig Laufer (co-chair), Oney P. Smith (co-chair)

Professor Emerita: Ann L. Boyd, Laura Betsy Estilow, Ricky Hirschhorn

Associate Professors: Eric Annis, April Boulton, Eric Kindahl

Associate Professor Emeritus: Kathy Falkenstein, Jeffrey L. Rossio

Assistant Professors: James Cherry, Robert Kambic, Daehwan Kim, Yulu Cherry Liu, Jeffrey Lombardo

The Department of Biology offers three programs of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree and two programs leading to a Master of Science degree. A biology minor, a coastal studies minor and an environmental science minor are also offered.

The undergraduate major in biology leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree. Biology majors also may earn secondary teaching certification.

The environmental science and policy major is an interdisciplinary major leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, administered by the departments of biology; chemistry and physics; economics and management; and political science. Students who choose this major take a common core of environmental studies, natural sciences and social sciences courses, then concentrate in environmental biology, environmental chemistry, environmental policy or coastal and watershed studies.

The sustainability studies major leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree and prepares students for a wide variety of careers in government, business or with non-profit organizations. Students receive holistic training in the areas of sustainable watersheds, food, and alternate energy development. The program emphasizes hands-on experiences, civic engagement, and service learning. 

The Master of Science degree is offered in biomedical science and in environmental biology.

Facilities: The department is housed in the Hodson Science and Technology Center. All laboratory facilities are either completely new or newly renovated. Lecture and lab classrooms have the latest in multimedia classroom presentation hardware. Specially designed and equipped labs for molecular biology, microbiology, physiology and animal behavior are available for course work and student and faculty research. Additional facilities such as dark room, cold room, cell culture facilities, fluorescence microscopy and an environmental analysis lab are all available for teaching and faculty and student research. Students can conduct environmental analyses using high performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography, gas chromatography, and other analytical instruments. Four greenhouses, environmental chambers and an aquatic laboratory are available to grow and study plants and animals. Other major instrumentation includes a scanning electron microscope, ultracentrifuge and real-time thermal cyclers. Along with the teaching labs and classrooms, specially designed laboratories for student and faculty research enhance the opportunities for students to join with the faculty in pursuing work from the biochemical to the ecological.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:  

Graduate Programs Offered:

Chemistry and Physics Department

Professors: Kevin Bennett, Susan Ensel (chair), Christopher Stromberg

Professor Emerita: Sharron W. Smith, Allen P. Flora

Associate Professor: Dana Lawrence

Assistant Professor: Ashish Chakradhar

General Chemistry Coordinator: Nicholas Kettenhofen

Chemistry Lab Technician: Christina Orcutt

The department offers two undergraduate majors: chemistry and biochemistry. The major in chemistry consists of a core of chemistry courses with some work in physics and mathematics.

The major in biochemistry consists of a combination of chemistry and biology courses, also with some work in physics and mathematics.

Chemistry majors may earn secondary teaching certification. Minors in chemistry and physics are offered, as well as an environmental chemistry concentration in the environmental science and policy major.

The chemistry and physics faculty are active professionals and scholars. 

Facilities: Chemistry and physics teaching laboratories are equipped with computer-controlled data acquisition and analysis systems. Chemistry students use instruments such as a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer; a GC-Mass spectrometer; an LC-Mass Spectrometer; Fourier transform infrared spectrometer; a visible and ultraviolet spectrophotometer; a SPEX fluorimeter; a Raman spectrometer; high performance liquid chromatographs; a capillary electrophoresis system; and calorimeters. Research laboratories contain additional specialized equipment.

Undergraduate Programs Offered: 

Computer Science and Information Technology Department

Professor Emeritus: Elizabeth B. Chang, Paul J. Gowen

Associate Professors: George Dimitoglou, Aijuan Dong, Xinlian Liu, Ahmed Salem (chair)

Assistant Professors: Carol Jim, Jiang Li, William Pierce

Technical Coordinator: Robert Jones

The Department of Computer Science offers an undergraduate major in computer science (B.S. degree), graduate programs in bioinformatics (M.S. degree), computer science (M.S. degree), cybersecurity (M.S. degree), information technology (M.S. degree) and management information systems (M.S. degree), and graduate certificates in bioinformatics and cybersecurity. 

Facilities: The College maintains Windows and Linux-based computer laboratories with software tools installed to support course instruction and student and faculty research activities. In addition, in the Hodson Science and Technology Center, the department maintains dedicated general-purpose and special-purpose servers, a dedicated Linux lab, and an advanced Cyber & Informatics Lab for use by cybersecurity, bioinformatics, computer science and information technology students.

Undergraduate Programs Offered: 

Graduate Programs Offered: 

The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business

Professor: Anita Jose

Associate Professor: David Gurzick (chair), Sang W. Kim, Tianning Li (MBA director), Jerrold Van Winter

Associate Professor Emeriti: William R. Agee, Joseph E. Dahms

Assistant Professors: James Hua, Ryan Safner (visiting)

The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business offers five bachelor of arts degrees, accounting, economics, finance, integrated marketing communications (joint with Department of English and Communication Arts), and business administration, plus the Master of Business Administration and doctorate in business administration at the graduate level. In addition, accelerated B.A. and MBA programs are also available.

The School of Business offers courses and programs of study that are concerned with people in various social and organizational contexts.

Majors in economics and business administration have pursued graduate study in economics and business administration and have entered careers in a variety of business sectors and in many organizational types from corporate to non-profit, start-up to public agencies. While there are required courses in both undergraduate B.A. majors, there is flexibility in selecting elective courses. Students select concentrations of courses that focus on specific education and career interests and may even pursue a double major when it serves their career needs.

The graduate program in business administration is designed to increase career mobility and to improve management skills for those in, or seeking to enter, management positions.

The School of Business faculty represent a variety of backgrounds including economic theory, economic development, environmental economics, international economics, econometrics, finance, accounting, public administration, marketing, international business, personnel management, organization theory, management information systems, logistics, entrepreneurship and strategic management.

Undergraduate Programs Offered: 

Graduate Programs Offered: 

Doctoral Program Offered: 

Education Department

Professor: Christy Graybeal (chair)

Professor Emeriti: Kathleen Bands, Patricia M. Bartlett, Dean Wood

Associate Professors: Kristine Calo, Jennifer Cuddapah, Ellen G. Koitz, Tricia Strickland, Marisel Torres-Crespo

Associate Professor Emeriti: Noel Farmer, John C. George, Carla S. Lyon, Judith Sherman, Roberta Strosnider

Assistant Professors: Rebecca Grove, Suzanne Hiller, Amy Kilpatrick, Nisha Manikoth

Assistant Professor Emerita: Kittybelle Hosford

Instructor: Daniel Shea (visiting)

Professional Development School Director, Early Childhood, Elementary/Special and Secondary Education PDS Liaison: Paula Gordon

Title II Supplementary Information available at: https://title2.ed.gov/Public/Home.aspx

The Department of Education offers undergraduate degrees in early childhood education and elementary/special education as well as certification in early childhood education, dual certification in elementary and special education, art, (preK-12), biology, chemistry, English, French (preK-12), history, mathematics and Spanish (preK-12). Master of Science degrees are offered in Educational Leadership, Reading Specialization, Multidisciplinary Studies, and in Curriculum and Instruction, with concentrations in elementary education, elementary school science and mathematics, secondary education and special education. All Hood College Education programs are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education, and meet the Title II requirements of the Higher Education Act. In addition, all programs are based conceptually on the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Standards. In partnership with the Department of Mathematics, the Department offers a Master of Science in Mathematics Education and a Master of Science in Mathematics Instructional Leadership. In partnership with the Department of Economics and Business Administration, the Department of Education offers a Doctoral Program in Organizational Leadership. 

Education faculty are active in national professional organizations and in local schools as supervisors of students, consultants and researchers. Hood’s full-time faculty is supplemented by adjunct faculty who are recognized as distinguished educators.

Facilities: Several facilities on campus serve as laboratories or curriculum materials centers for the teacher education program. The Georgetown Hill at Hood College Lab School, founded in 1929, serves as a child development laboratory school for 2-, 3- and 4-year-old children. Students observe and teach in the Lab School. An elementary science and mathematics classroom and the instructional technology classroom are available to students. In addition, many courses are taught in the Tatem Art Building’s “Smart Rooms,” which are equipped with instructional technology. Area school districts work cooperatively with the education department in offering numerous field experiences to teacher education students through Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships. Education students are engaged in continuous and extensive field experiences in the PDS and the Lab School beginning with their first education course and continuing through program completion.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Graduate Programs Offered:

Doctoral Program Offered:

Our Vision as a Department

We believe that education is a scholarly pursuit, a science, an art, and a profession. Quality education is a fundamental right of every child and well-prepared educational professionals are integral to the success of students and society as a whole. To this end, the Education Department at Hood College strives to prepare and support future and current educators who are experts in both content and pedagogy, and responsive to meeting the diverse needs of every student. Our programs aspire to develop reflective practitioners who continually improve their practice and advocate for the value of education. 

Mission Statement

The mission of the Education Department at Hood College is to prepare future and current educational professionals with the knowledge, skills, strategies and dispositions necessary to facilitate learning in a diverse society.

Institutional (Department) Outcomes

We believe that the education department at Hood College prepares educators who:

  1. Demonstrate the subject matter content, pedagogical knowledge, teaching skills and professional dispositions necessary to ensure that all of their students and clients learn. (CONTENT KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS)

  2. Use their knowledge of diversity to create learning environments that support the belief that all students can learn. (DIVERSITY)

  3. Use assessment data to guide practices that support the belief that all students can learn. (ASSESSMENT)

  4. Use technology to enhance learning. (TECHNOLOGY)

  5. Communicate effectively with students, families and colleagues in order to facilitate learning. (COMMUNICATION)

  6. Reflect on their practice and are committed to continued professional growth. (REFLECTIVE PRACTICE)

  7. Demonstrate ethics and integrity to show respect for the profession. (ETHICS and INTEGRITY)

The education department envisions developing well-educated and well-prepared teachers and educators.

English and Communication Arts Department

Professors: Amy Gottfried (director of the Creative Writing concentration)

Professors Emeriti: Donna Bertazzoni, Courtney Carter, Carol Kolmerten, Mark Sandona, Aldan Weinberg

Associate Professors: Elizabeth Atwood, Trevor Dodman, Alan Goldenbach, Elizabeth Knapp (chair), Heather Mitchell-Buck, Katherine Orloff (director of Communication Arts program) 

Assistant Professors: Brooke Witherow

Instructors: Janie O’Neal

The Department of English and Communication Arts offers majors in English, communication arts, integrated marketing communication, and seven minors.

Secondary education certification is also available for the major in English.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Global Languages and Cultures Department

Professors: Lisa Algazi Marcus, Didier Course, Scott Pincikowski, Donald Wright, Maria Griselda Zuffi (chair)

Professor Emerita: Roser Caminals-Heath

Assistant Professor: Robert Casas Roige

Assistant Professor Emerita: Loretta M. Bassler

The Department of Global Languages and Cultures offers French, Spanish: Iberian and Latin American Cultural Studies, and Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies majors. The department also offers minors in French, German, Middle Eastern Studies, Spanish: Iberian and Latin American Cultural Studies.

Unless a student plans to teach or continue with graduate studies, the department encourages double majors in languages and another discipline.

Department offerings include, in addition to traditional language and literature courses, introduction to translation and interpretation, cross-cultural courses, language skills for the world of work and internships. Chapters of national honor societies for French and Spanish students have been established on campus.

Language Residences: As part of its educational program, the department operates three small residences—a French, a Spanish and a German house, each under the leadership of a resident director who is an assistant in the department and a native speaker of the language. While in residence, the students are expected to speak French, Spanish or German exclusively. 

Study Abroad: The department requires students to spend a semester studying abroad through Hood’s affiliation with programs in Seville, Spain; Munich and Mainz, Germany; Egypt; Jordan; and Toulouse, Nice and Paris, France, Argentina, Ecuador and Mexico. Language majors who do not go abroad at least one semester will spend two years in a language house on campus.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Certificates in Linguistics and Cultural Competency:

 

History Department

Professor Emeriti: Emilie Amt, Purnima M. Bhatt

Associate Professors: Corey Campion, Jay Harrison, Terry Anne Scott (chair)

The Department of History offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. History majors may earn secondary education certification.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Honors Program

The Hood College Honors Program is a four-year program of coursework, co-curricular events and extracurricular activities. Honors courses, which are designed to cultivate students’ ability to examine our complex world, are interdisciplinary in approach and are often team-taught. Classes are small, discussion-oriented and frequently enhanced by guest speakers and field trips.

The Honors Program includes the following requirements:

  • FYS 101H and HON 102 taken during first year
  • HON 201 and HON 202 taken during sophomore year
  • At least one 300-level or 400-level HON course taken during junior year
  • A second 300-level or 400-level HON course (or approved replacement) taken during the sophomore, junior or senior years
  • HON 470 (the third upper-level HON course required) taken during the junior or senior years
  • Demonstration of 202-level proficiency in a global language (other than English, Latin or ASL)

GPA Requirements

To remain in good standing in the Honors Program, first-year students are required to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are required to maintain at least a 3.25 GPA. Students who have a GPA that falls below the minimum requirement will be placed on probation within the program or dismissed from it.

Grade Requirements

A grade of “C-” or better is required in each Honors course being used to satisfy the Program requirements.

  • Any student who receives a grade lower than a C- in FYS 101H will be dismissed from the program.

  • Any student receiving a grade lower than C- in HON 102, HON 201 or HON 202 may be dismissed from the program. If allowed to continue in Honors, the student will need to repeat that course the next time it is offered and earn a grade of C- or higher in order to fulfill the program requirements.

Global Language Requirement
Students in the Honors Program must demonstrate proficiency in a global language (other than English, Latin or ASL) through the 202-level. Proficiency can be demonstrated by successful completion of a 202-level course or by a placement exam.

First-Year Honors Experience
First-year students in the Honors Program take two Colloquium courses organized around interdisciplinary themes. In the first semester the course emphasizes the humanities. The second semester explores a theme related to the sciences.

  • FYS 101H First Year Seminar-Honors Colloquium I

Sophomore Year Honors Experience
The sophomore year in Honors helps students to explore the nature of knowledge, cultural differences and the individual’s place in society.

During the second semester (HON 202) students combine scholarly research with experiential learning in the community.

Selected first-year students may begin the program at the end of their first or second semester at Hood. These students begin taking Honors courses at the time of their entry into the program and exempt earlier Honors courses. 

Honors students may begin taking their upper-level Honors electives in the sophomore year. Because Honors electives are offered on a variable schedule, students who are particularly interested in a course are urged to take it the first time it is offered during their eligible years. Students who take an upper-level Honors elective in their sophomore year are still required to take HON 201 and HON 202 during their sophomore year.

Honors Experience in Junior and Senior Years
Students in the Honors program will complete at least three Honors courses (or approved replacements) at the 300-level or above. At least one of those upper-level HON courses must be HON 470 Seminar. HON 470 may be repeated once under a different topic.

Approved Replacements for Upper-Level Honors Elective Courses

Students who study abroad for at least one semester may count that experience as one of their upper-level Honors electives. Students who complete a two-semester departmental honors paper (499) may count that paper as one of their upper-level Honors electives.

Students who complete a 6-credit departmental honors paper (499) may count that paper as one of their upper-level Honors electives.

As an alternative to a departmental honors paper, students in Hood's Honors Program may elect to complete a 3-credit interdisciplinary HON 499 paper or project during the fall or spring semester of the senior year.

Relationship to the Core Curriculum
Students will receive one Methods of Inquiry Core Curriculum replacement for each Honors course completed in the 102, 201, 202 sequence. (Note: Honors credit may not be used as a replacement for the laboratory science requirement.) Successful completion of HON 201 also satisfies the Global Perspectives requirement of the Core.

Transferring into the Honors Program
The Honors Program welcomes qualified transfer students.

Those who have successfully completed two years of an honors program at another college or university before transferring to Hood may enter the Hood College Honors Program at the junior level. In order to complete the program, such students must take HON 470 and a minimum of two other upper-level Honors Program courses (or approved replacements). Students must also complete the program's global language requirement (see below).

Students who transfer to Hood without having completed two years of an honors program at another college or university, may also join the Honors Program. They must take a minimum of five Honors Program courses: HON 201, HON 202, HON 470 and at least two other HON courses at the 300-level or above (or approved replacements). Students must also complete the program's global language requirement (below). Sophomore transfers who complete HON 201 and HON 202 may use those courses to replace two courses from the Methods of Inquiry Core (other than laboratory science).

Global Language Requirement Students transferring into the Honors Program with an A.A., A.S., or AAT or who have earned A.A. equivalency may satisfy the global language requirement in one of the following ways:

Demonstrate proficiency in a global language through the 202-level (by coursework or placement exam)

or

Successfully complete any two global language courses

or

Complete one global language course and one of the following

AFPS 353, Contemporary African Political Thought

ANTH 302, Cultural Anthropology

ART 356, Art of Japan

GER 301, Berlin in the 20th Century

GLBS 301, Human Migrations: Refugees and IDPs

MEST 300, Cultures of the Middle East 

Note: English, Latin and ASL cannot be used to satisfy the Global Language requirement of the Honors Program. 

Students who place in and complete a 203, 204 or civilization course-level French, German, or Spanish course during the first semester at Hood with a grade of C or above earn 6 additional credits. No additional credits are awarded for students already awarded transfer credit for French, German, or Spanish 201 and 202.

Recognition of Honors Students
To graduate from the Honors Program, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25. Students who fulfill the Honors requirements will earn Honors Program recognition on their academic records. 

Law and Criminal Justice Department

Professor: Janis Judson (chair)

Assistant Professor: Teresa Bean

The Department of Law and Criminal Justice offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in law and criminal justice.

The law and criminal justice department designed a realistic moot courtroom based on our knowledge of experiential learning formats. The courtroom, located on the second floor of Tatem, is used to stage criminal trials and for appellate legal proceedings. Several classes in law, criminal justice, and political science are held in the moot courtroom.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Mathematics Department

Professor Emerita: M. Elizabeth Mayfield

Professor: Ann Stewart

Associate Professor: James Parson (chair)

Associate Professor Emeritus: Douglas Peterson

Assistant Professors: Sara Malec, Nicholas Owad, Jill Tysse

The Department of Mathematics offers a Bachelor of Arts degree and a minor in mathematics.

In conjunction with the education department, the mathematics department also offers certification in secondary mathematics, a minor in mathematics education, a post-baccalaureate certificate in secondary mathematics education and master’s degrees in mathematics education and mathematics instructional leadership. With the George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business, the mathematics department coordinates a minor in actuarial science.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Graduate Programs Offered:

Music Department

Professor Emeritus: Wayne Wold

Associate Professor: Noel Verzosa (chair, music history and literature, world music, appreciation, musical theater, popular music, special topics)

Instructor: Lynn Staininger (choral activities, conducting, appreciation, musicianship theory, special topics)

Adjunct Instructors: Anna Claire Ayoub (bassoon), Lisa Dodson (voice), David Duree (clarinet and saxophone), Lynn Fleming (string bass), Brian Hinkley (brass and wind ensemble, conducting), William Powell (piano appreciation), Gregory Shook (oboe and English horn), William Simms (guitar, early music ensemble), Barbara Spicher (flute), Wayne Wold (organ, harpischord, composition), Antony Zwerdling (voice).

Music is a cornerstone of a liberal arts education. Hood offers majors and minors in music history and literature, performance, and piano pedagogy and certificates in piano pedagogy and performance. The music curriculum has the following objectives: development of the enjoyment of music, proficiency in musical performance, understanding of music as a cultural and historical artifact, preparation for a career in music, and preparation for graduate school.

Most members of the department are concert artists, some of whom have performed nationally and internationally. Several are award-winning recording artists.

Facilities: Hood’s facilities for the study of music include eight practice rooms with Yamaha studio upright pianos, teaching studios with grand pianos (mostly Steinways), a large pipe organ, a practice organ, a harpsichord, a music-lab computer station and several performing venues: Brodbeck Music Hall, Hodson Auditorium, and Coffman Chapel.

Performances: Students have many performing opportunities through participation in recitals; performance labs; choir; chamber singers; the wind, string, jazz, and early music ensembles; and other smaller chamber groups. The choral groups perform several times each semester, including the annual “Messiah and More” performance, Candlelight Vespers, and the other ensembles present end-of-the-semester concerts each term. Numerous concerts each year by distinguished guest artists and faculty artists are also held.

Credit by audition: Students who have a substantial background in an instrument may audition with the department to earn up to 4 credits of applied music.

 Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Applied Music (Lessons)

Hood offers individual instruction in piano, organ, harpsichord, violin, viola, cello, string bass, flute, English horn, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, all brass instruments, voice, guitar, composition, and conducting. Beginning instruction in all areas is available with consent of the Department. In all instrumental areas except piano, organ, and harpsichord, students are expected to provide their own instruments.

All Hood students are eligible to take lessons regardless of their field of study. Students may take applied music for credit; music majors and minors have specific requirements regarding the areas of applied music and the number they must take. Students may choose to take either one 30-minute lesson per week, which will earn them 1 credit for the semester; or one 60-minute lesson per week, which will them 2 credits for the semester. Two 30-minute lessons may be combined into a 60-minute lesson each week at the discretion of the instructor.

Students taking applied music for credit must attend three department-approved concerts each semester and are expected to participate in performance labs scheduled throughout the semester. Applied music credits are based on reasonable progress, fulfillment of the concert and performance requirements, and successful completion of an end-of-semester departmental exam ("jury"). Students in their first semester of study are exempt from juries. Students taking lessons in more than one area of applied music must complete a jury for each area of study.

There is a modest fee for lessons and use of the practice rooms; the department is sometimes able to award scholarships to help cover these fees.

For detailed, up-to-date information on the applied music program and policies, please consult the Applied Music Handbook.

Music Ensembles

All Hood students may participate in music ensembles regardless of their field of study. Students may enroll in ensembles for credit; music majors and minors have specific requirements regarding the ensembles and number of credits they must enroll in. Students earn 0.5 credit for each semester of ensemble and may earn up to 6 credits during their Hood careers.

Note: in all cases, the appropriate director must approve placement in music ensembles.

Nursing Department

Assistant Professors: Linda Kennedy (chair), Jennifer Cooper, Joseph Haymore, Elizabeth Mackessy-Lloyd, Sandra Thomas-Lalmansingh

Hood College offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing designed to educate students to become safe nursing practitioners and to prepare them to take the NCLEX examination. The program provides basic nursing education along with the required competencies for nursing in today's health care environment. With a curriculum grounded in the liberal arts, natural sciences, and nursing courses focusing on leadership, research and evidence-based practice, critical thinking, nursing theory and communication, students are well prepared to enter the field of nursing. Nursing students must also meet all requirements of the Hood College Core Curriculum

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Philosophy and Religious Studies Department

Professors: Karen Hoffman (chair)

William Allen (Libman Professor)

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies offers a major in philosophy as well as minors in ethics, religion, and philosophy. The solid liberal arts foundation provided by the philosophy major serves as a good beginning for a career in almost any field, including law, medicine and business.

Philosophy and religious studies faculty are distinguished scholars and teachers who have extensive knowledge of theoretical and applied ethics, political philosophy, the history of philosophy, contemporary topics in philosophy and philosophy of film.

Writing across the departmental curriculum: Departmental faculty strongly believe that students who take religion and philosophy courses should not only increase their knowledge but also improve their writing skills. Reading, thinking, writing and intelligent discussion are the principal means by which students engage with the subject matter of courses in religion and philosophy. 

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Physical Education Department

Professor Emeriti: Karen Klisch, Bonnie J. Neuman

Associate Professor Emeriti: Doris M. Bailey, Dorothy Johnson

At a time when the nation is witnessing an obesity epidemic and has an aging population at risk for falls, and the population enjoys watching sports more than playing sports, health science and sport science bring together individuals with backgrounds in physiology and wellness and health education to work on these and many other important public health problems.

The Department of Physical Education offers course work directed at increasing student awareness of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and physical activity and at gaining the skills and understanding basic to a lifetime of wellness. Students have the opportunity to complete lecture classes focusing upon sports science and health education, as well as activity classes focusing upon physical fitness, creative expression, risk-taking and sports skills.

Facilities: The College’s sports facilities include Gambrill Gymnasium which houses a dance studio, gymnasium floor, aerobics room and yoga room; Hodson Fitness Center with treadmills, ellipticals and exercise bicycles, as well as weight machines and free weight equipment; Hood Tennis Complex with six tennis courts; Huntsinger Aquatics Center; and Thomas Athletic Field.

Political Science Department

Professors: Paige Eager, Janis Judson

Professor Emerita: Margery Elfin, Hoda Zaki

Associate Professors: Carin Robinson, Tamelyn Tucker-Worgs (chair)

Assistant Professor: Katherine Robiadek

The Department of Political Science offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in global studies, political science, and environmental science and policy. Environmental Science and Policy is offered jointly with the Department of Biology.

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Psychology and Counseling Department

Professors: Ingrid Farreras, Shannon Kundey (chair)

Professor Emerita: Linda Scott

Associate Professors: Diane Graves

Associate Professor Emerita: Wanda Ruffin, Terry Martin

Assistant Professors: Andrew Campbell, Shannon Shoemaker, Jessica McManus, Erik Messinger, Molly Moreland, Megan Shaine, Atiya Smith

At the undergraduate level, the Department of Psychology and Counseling offers a B.A. degree in Psychology, B.A. degree in Art Therapy, a minor in Psychology, and a minor in Biopsychology.

At the graduate level, the department offers an M.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Behavior, an M.S. degree in Counseling, and a graduate certificate in Thanatology. The Thanatology offerings prepare individuals for careers in research, administration, or service with the terminally ill and bereaved, as well as to provide education on death and dying. The Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Behavior degree provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human experience and complexity as well as the problems of the world we live in. Students in the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Behavior program may obtain an optional certificate in Thanatology. Designed to meet Maryland licensure requirements, the Counseling degree provides training in clinical mental health counseling or school counseling, with an additional, optional emphasis in thanatology.  Counselors work in primary and secondary schools, community mental health programs, hospitals, substance abuse clinics, at-risk youth programs, social services agencies, and private counseling practices. The faculty’s areas of expertise are in clinical psychology, biopsychology, cognitive psychology, comparative cognition, counseling, developmental psychology, history of psychology, and thanatology.

 

Undergraduate Programs Offered:

Graduate Programs Offered:

Sociology and Social Work Department

Professor Emerita: Roger Reitman, Lynda Sowbel, Kerry Strand

Associate Professors: Laura Moore (chair), Jolene Sanders

Associate Professor Emerita: Shannon E. Griffiths

Assistant Professors: Michelle Gricus, Catherine Breneman, Simone Kolysh, Tina Barr

The department offers two majors—sociology and social work—and minors in sociology, criminology and delinquency, pre-professional practice in social work and social science research.

Undergraduate Programs Offered: